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'I was trying to relive what they went through to the very end'

Ron McCoy, an engineer with the Eglin Air Force Base fire department, waits in the stairwell of the base’s air control tower Wednesday during a memorial ceremony for the 343 firefighters killed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Firefighters carried ribbons bearing the name of each fallen firefighter up the tower’s 13 flights of stairs where the names where read aloud before being attached to a large flag that was later hung from the outside of the building.

DEVON RAVINE / Daily News

By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News

Published: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 at 03:37 PM.

EGLIN AFB — Running up the stairs of the air traffic control tower Wednesday, Staff Sgt. John Saunders tried to put himself in the shoes of firefighters climbing the World Trade Center on 9/11.

As his boots hit the steps, he thought of the smoke and the people screaming, that he would have known the building could collapse and that it wasn’t clear whether he would make it back down.

“I was trying to relive what they went through to the very end,” the Eglin firefighter said.

He and about 50 firefighters with the 96th Civil Engineer Squadron at Eglin climbed the control tower in full gear to mark the anniversary of 9/11.

One-by-one they carried individual banners inscribed with the names of the 343 New York City firefighters who were killed.

At the top of tower, the names were read aloud, echoing out over the sound of the boots of the next firefighter coming up with another name.

“This is one of the best ways we are able to honor our brothers who fell,” said A.J. Turek, a civilian engineer with the Eglin Fire Department who climbed the tower several times with different names. “I think about all the families that still have that hole. For them, they are still missing someone at the dinner table.”

She had just signed up for the Air Force and was six months out from going into service as a firefighter when the attacks occurred. It steeled her dedication to her chosen career.

“I remember thinking, ‘well, that was the right decision,’ ” she said. “I wanted to join them even more. I already had a heart for the job, my love for it, my passion for it, but then you saw there could be a very large price attached and it really just weighted that passion down.”

At the top of tower, the names were read aloud, echoing out over the sound of the boots of the next firefighter coming up with another name.

“This is one of the best ways we are able to honor our brothers who fell,” said A.J. Turek, a civilian engineer with the Eglin Fire Department who climbed the tower several times with different names. “I think about all the families that still have that hole. For them, they are still missing someone at the dinner table.”

She had just signed up for the Air Force and was six months out from going into service as a firefighter when the attacks occurred. It steeled her dedication to her chosen career.

“I remember thinking, ‘well, that was the right decision,’ ” she said. “I wanted to join them even more. I already had a heart for the job, my love for it, my passion for it, but then you saw there could be a very large price attached and it really just weighted that passion down.”